Dive Brief:
- The American Hotel & Lodging Association, along with nearly 80 hospitality groups, sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urging the Senate to pass the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act.
- The bipartisan act, which passed in the House of Representatives in January, includes several provisions that would benefit the hospitality and tourism industries, according to AHLA. Its passing is particularly important as hoteliers grapple with “the economic uncertainties created by persistent inflation, a nationwide workforce shortage, and an aggressive federal regulatory agenda,” AHLA Interim President and CEO Kevin Carey said in a statement.
- The Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act joins a growing list of legislative measures that AHLA has lobbied for in recent months, and one of the first addressed by Carey, who is temporarily replacing former AHLA leader Chip Rogers after he departed the association earlier this month.
Dive Insight:
AHLA joins dozens of hospitality groups, including the International Franchise Association, the National Restaurant Association and the U.S. Travel Association, in calling on the Senate to pass the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act.
The act’s passage would “support an efficient, productive, and competitive marketplace,” providing support for hospitality businesses that “weathered the pandemic” and “lacked capital to reinvest back in their businesses,” according to the letter sent to Senate leadership.
Provisions to the act that would benefit the hospitality industry include the extension of the EBITDA business interest deductibility standard, which “encourages business owners to invest back in their employees and businesses,” the letter reads.
The associations also supported the provision to restore 100% bonus depreciation, writing that it would put “Main Street businesses on a ‘pro-growth’ footing by aligning the economic impact of capital improvements with their tax treatment and encouraging investment.”
“Pro-growth policies like these make it easier for travel businesses to reinvest in their communities and create pathways to prosperity for Americans,” Tori Emerson Barnes, executive vice president of public affairs and policy at the U.S. Travel Association, said in a statement.
She urged the Senate to pass the legislation, as it would give the industry the “tools to help create a more vibrant and agile economy.”
If the provisions are not extended, the letter detailed, hospitality businesses could see up to a 30% increase in their tax burden while being “forced to carry more debt or delay investments.”
AHLA’s Carey echoed Emerson Barnes in a statement, calling on the Senate “on behalf of America’s nearly 62,500 hotels” to pass the act “as soon as possible.”
The act is one of the first measures addressed by Carey as AHLA Interim President and CEO, who replaced the association's former leader, Chip Rogers, earlier this month.
During his five-year tenure, Rogers advocated for — and against — a variety of hotel laws and regulations, including the National Labor Relations Board’s joint employer rule, the Los Angeles Responsible Hotels Ordinance, the legal H-2B guest worker program and other labor-related bills.
